Job Introduction
We are Forestry England.
We live and breathe forests.
Job title – Business Support Officer
Salary- 29,171 Pro Rata
Contract type – Fixed Term Appointment (to end March 2026 with potential for extension, at no guarantee, dependent on funding)
Hours – 30 hours per week
Vacancy closes - 28th September 2025 23:58
Join us. We're foresters, professionals and experts. We are a passionate team who love to share our enthusiasm and want to make a positive difference for you and the environment.
Together, we’re using our scale and expertise to grow the nation’s forests for everyone. We’re already adapting our landscapes for tomorrow, and getting stuff done today, like creating amazing places and experiences for you to enjoy. We're providing vital homes for wildlife, making our air cleaner to breathe and producing sustainable timber.
What you’ll do…
You will work as part of the 'Access for All' programme team. The aim of the programme is to deliver greater inclusion and access opportunities through an agreed programme of infrastructure improvements. The work targets a range of forest locations across England, including those that reach communities in greatest need of support. You will be part of a team working to deliver access that is inclusive, promotes equality, and is reflective of our nation’s diversity.
As Business Support Officer, you will provide administrative and comprehensive business support to the 'Access for All' programme team (and district project teams where appropriate) to support this aim.
You will need to:
- Be a very competent IT user with experience of MS Office including high level of experience in using Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
- Have experience of working in an office environment with a large, dispersed, and often remote, team
Please see the job description for more detailed information.
Where you’ll work…
The role will be a mix of working from home and from your nearest Forestry England office, this can be discussed further at interview. There may be occasional need for travel to other locations which may rarely include overnight stays.
Benefits…
Alongside your salary, Forestry England contributes an average of 28.97% towards your pension. You will become a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension Scheme.
- 25 days holiday a year, raising by one day every year’s service, up to 30 days (pro-rated for part time employees) plus additional days off such as bank holidays.
- STaR is our employee benefits scheme offering discounts on everyday supermarket shopping, as well as other things such as hotel stays clothes, mobile phones, other electrical items, medical and car insurance, holidays, gym discounts, household bills, Headspace wellbeing app.
- free parking at Forestry England sites and free entry to our National Arboretums at Westonbirt and Bedgebury.
- a commitment to lifelong learning through career development. Forestry England will support your career development in a variety of ways, including continual professional development, support for individual learning plans and sponsored membership of professional bodies.
Read more about the benefits on the Forestry England website.
How to apply…
You will be asked to write a 200 word statement on your relevant experience and career history, along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words. You will be assessed on both during sifting. More details about how to apply are listed on the application form.
You will be assessed on your experiences, strength based questions and behavours during your interview.
The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –
- Making effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Changing and Improving
Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government baseline personnel security standard check.
If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk.
If you're planning to use AI to support your application, please ensure you've read our guidelines here first.
Read more about our application process and working with us on the Forestry England website.
Nationality requirements…
Read more about nationality requirements here.
Working for the Civil Service…
Forestry England is part of the Civil Service. The Civil Service has a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS). This means candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria during the application process will be guaranteed an interview. We also offer a Redeployment Interview Scheme to current civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the role. This role is also part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans and Prison Leaver Recruitment initiative.
Within Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, it is essential that applicants should have the ability to provide conversation in accurate spoken English.
Our recruitment process makes appointments based on fair and open competition and merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in in line with/according to these principles and you wish to make a complaint, please email: englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk.
